“Let us be brief, so we can finish the sentence in this century.” -- Stanislaw J. Letz, Polish Humorist

Effective Business Writing is an art, business, a persuasive way to your powerful success, a great investment in your life, career and future. Effective Writing is a thought and analysis process, so think before writing your memo because time is money. Here are the ABCs of the Effective Writing: “A” for accuracy, “B” for brevity and “C” for clarity. Wasted words and sentences mean lost time and money of your clients, missed sales and golden opportunities.

Effective Business Writing should be problem-solving, professional, courteous and responsible.

Ask yourslef these questions before you write:

Why am I writing this memo?
What and how do I want to accomplish this?
Who is my intended recipient?
Do I have all the facts?
Do I have an expertise to write about the subject?
Do I have all the tools of the trade to accomplish this mission?

“The difference between the almost-right word & the right word is really a large matter -- it's the difference between the lightning-bug & the lightning." -- Mark Twain

We write as we speak, we “talk“ on paper. The way we speak sometimes makes us smile, laugh or cry, sometimes we misuse the words or abuse our mother tongue. Effective business writing reads like a simple, direct conversation, concise, right to the point. Be positive, project professionalism, have The You Attitude, Positive Mental Attitude, be professional, courteous, reader-friendly because readers judge you by your writing. Here we walk a very fine line, so do not cross the boundaries. Use courteous, professional Conversational writing style, but do not tempt to make it Colloquial. The difference between Conversational writing style and Colloquial is huge: Conversational is formal, literary and right to the point. Colloquial means informal, abrupt, casual style of conversation, using local and/or regional dialectal expressions. “Urban Dicitionary,” texting/textmessaging/, “textspeak” and e-mail communications are examples of colloquial writing style. It can get us into trouble, sometimes, with all sophisticated digital, technological devices and diminishes the value of the professional usage of the English language and defeats the purpose of the effective business writing. Such writers may not have a good command of English and lots of GPS problems- grammar, punctuation and spelling. Using plain English Rules is a solution.

Rules of Plain English:

Be brief, use short sentences

Active voice v. passive voice

Clear, concise, understandable language

Focus on the actor, action and the object

No multiple negatives

Write in the positive

No legal jargon or other highly technical business terms

Create a document that is visually inviting, logically organized and understandable on the first reading

Descriptive headers and sub-headers

Bullet lists

Avoid wide gaps between subject, verb and object

Sir Ernest Gowers pioneered the Plain English movement. His famous books are: “Plain Words; A Guide to the Use of English” and “The Complete Plain Words.” He crusaded for good, correct, concise English and against jargon, professional slang, “officialese” and was knighted in 1928.

Special thanks to Carol Walden for her help with this project.

Executive Communication as a Powerful Corporate Message
By Peter Kirchikov and Carol Walden

“Executive Communication Will Take You to the Top of the Corporate Ladder”

Do you ever find yourself wondering how some people effortlessly ride powerful words through the gateway of success while you clumsily stitch words together in an awkward sequence of mediocrity? Now you can reap the benefits of Executive Communication where we turn writer's block into a launching pad.

Executive Communication is the way to deliver your message without resorting to buzzwords that serve to keep your thoughts lost in the noise of the ordinary. Our experts will help you master the elusive art of thinking and dreaming BIG!

Definition: Executive Communication is an exchange that uses power words, motivational, high performance and sophisticated vocabulary, terms, verbiage, attention-grabbing phrases, methods and effective communication. It targets the audience, encouraging and inspiring it to act and delivers important corporate message and projects excellence.

This presentation is meant to be an informative, educational and all-around great learning experience.

Please click here to schedule your class or workshops in Executive Communication as a Powerful Corporate Message with Peter Kirchikov and Carol Walden